| Avenel Cooperative Housing Project | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | 2839-2849 Avenel St., Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1947 |
| Architect: | Ain, Gregory |
| Architectural style(s): | Modern Movement |
| Added to NRHP: | February 27, 2005 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 05000070 |
| Governing body: | Private |
Avenel Cooperative Housing Project is a "cooperative experiment" designed by noted architect Gregory Ain, and built in 1947 in the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles.[2] The project consists of ten cooperative units built along a common path on two lots. Ain's innovative design has been called "a model for effective use of limited space for low-cost urban housing."[3]
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According to one source, the units were originally built for a group of motion picture cartoonists and their families.[4] Another source indicates that Ain built the units "as a cooperative living experiment for a group of communists."[5] Resident and architect Richard Corsini noted: "Most of the people that originally lived here were path-breaking political types," and even after the communist cooperative broke up, the structures remained popular with progressive homeowners.[5]
Ain's experiment consisted of ten three-bedroom units of 960 square feet (89 m2), each built along a common path.[2] The entire project was situated on two 60-foot (18 m) lots, each 140 feet (43 m) deep.[3] The original units included sliding glass walls that separated the living room from the outdoor patio and sliding wood room dividers that could be adjusted to open or divide two smaller bedrooms from each other and the master bedroom and living room from each other. The buildings were originally painted pink by Ain,[3] though otherwise lacking exterior decoration and having living rooms that open into private outdoor spaces.[2]
In 2002, the Los Angeles Times ran a 1,500-word feature article about the Avenel project. At that time, one of three remaining original residents, Serril Gerber, told the Times that he and his wife had joined with nine other couples in seeking out Ain, hiring him to build a low-cost complex with high-style design. Gerber said, "We'd seen these modern houses in magazines, and we liked the idea of having a living space that is both indoors and outdoors. We liked the idea of doing something really modern, and we liked Greg. He was a radical person in his thinking, because he wanted to put his ideas in the service of regular people. That was his mission, really."[3] Each couple contributed $11,000 to the project.[3]
By 2002, the units had become popular with architecture enthusiasts and were selling for $300,000.[6] In the early 2000s, USC professor Christiane Robbins lived at the Avenel complex while making a film on Ain's work.[3]
Over the years, the units had been substantially modified by homeowners, and all but one had expanded the living space to include the outdoor patio area. Also, though built for families of four, most owners had found the units more comfortable for two persons and had converted the master bedrooms into dens.[3]
Preservation architect Gordon Olschlager moved into one of the units in 1992 and restored it using Ain's original drawings. Olschlager removed additions that were not part of Ain's original design. Olschlager also restored the sliding glass walls and sliding wood room dividers.[7] Olschlager did not reverse all of the modifications, however, noting: "When you talk to people who know Gregory Ain, they say that he would have been comfortable with people personalizing their space."[3] Olschlager won a Merit Award in the Western Home Awards for his work on the Avenel Cooperative.[7]
Ain's Avenel Cooperative project was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Ain's work, including the Avenel Cooperative, was included in a major exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York: "Built in the U.S.A.: Post-War Architecture."[8]
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